Provider news
Verizon sets Frontier copper shutdown dates: on or after Nov 6 in six states, Dec 10 in eight more
Two rounds of public notices cover all remaining copper locations in hundreds of wire centers across 14 states. Your own letter gives your date.
Event date · Primary source: verizon.com
Key takeaways · current to
- Verizon notices dated Aug 7, 2026 retire copper at all remaining locations in listed wire centers in Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin on or after Nov 6, 2026.
- Notices dated Sept 8, 2026 do the same in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina and Utah, and in legacy Verizon areas of New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virginia, on or after Dec 10, 2026.
- Verizon says it will discontinue the services on that copper under FCC rules before retiring it, and may move customers off copper well before the date.
- Each notice covers whole wire centers, not single addresses; the letter Verizon sends each customer gives that household's date.
- Households with a home phone on a Frontier line should move the number before the line ends.
Verizon has published dates for retiring the copper that carries Frontier phone and DSL service in 11 states, plus three legacy Verizon states. Notices dated Aug 7, 2026 set “on or after November 6, 2026” for listed wire centers in six states, and notices dated Sept 8, 2026 set “on or after” Dec 10, 2026 for eight more. Your own letter from Verizon gives your date.
What changed
Verizon completed its purchase of Frontier on Jan 20, 2026. On behalf of its Frontier and Verizon phone companies, it has since posted public copper retirement notices under the FCC’s network-change rule. Each one says Verizon intends to “retire the copper facilities at all remaining locations” in the listed wire centers (a wire center is the local phone office that serves an area).
Two lines in the Texas notice, re-read on Nov 4, 2026, apply to every notice in this round:
- “Verizon will discontinue services offered over these copper facilities pursuant to FCC rules before retiring the facilities.”
- “Verizon may require customers and interconnecting entities to migrate services off of copper facilities well before the copper retirement implementation date.”
In plain terms, phone and DSL service on that copper ends, and it may end before the date on the notice.
The dates, state by state
| State | Company named in the notice | Wire centers | On or after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Frontier Communications of the South and affiliates | 93 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Indiana | Frontier Communications of Indiana and affiliates | 224 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Nebraska | Citizens Telecommunications Company of Nebraska | 37 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| North Carolina | Frontier Communications of the Carolinas | 41 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| North Carolina (Knotts Island) | Verizon South | 1 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Texas | Frontier Southwest and Frontier Dallas TX Fiber 1, with affiliates | 274 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Wisconsin | Frontier Communications of Wisconsin, Frontier North and Citizens Telecommunications Company of Illinois | 136 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Arizona | Citizens Telecommunications Company of the White Mountains and affiliates | 59 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| New Mexico | Navajo Communications Company | 12 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| Ohio | Frontier North, Frontier Communications of Michigan and affiliates | 245 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| South Carolina | Frontier Communications of the Carolinas | 39 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| Utah | Citizens Telecommunications Company of Utah | 27 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| New Jersey | Verizon New Jersey | 62 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| Rhode Island | Verizon New England | 7 | Dec 10, 2026 |
| Virginia | Verizon Virginia | 211 | Dec 10, 2026 |
From the notices on Verizon’s network disclosures page. That adds up to 806 wire centers in the November round and 662 in December. Earlier 2026 notices covered Frontier areas of Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi and Tennessee (on or after July 23) and legacy Verizon Delaware (on or after May 20). Verizon’s index listed no newer copper notices as of Nov 3, 2026.
Who it affects
Households on Frontier or Verizon copper in a listed wire center: landline phone, DSL, or both on the same line. A notice covers a whole wire center, so it can’t tell you about one house. The letter Verizon sends you is what counts for your address.
Verizon’s notices say affected locations will have access to fixed or mobile wireless service from multiple providers, including Verizon Wireless, or another wired option, including VoIP phone service from Verizon or a cable company.
What to do now
- Find your letter, or ask Verizon in writing whether your address is affected and on what date.
- Ask what Verizon offers at your address, then compare it with other options before the date.
- Move your phone number first if you have a landline on the copper. Keep the old service until the new phone company has started the port. Keeping your home phone number
- Line up and test the replacement internet while the copper still works. Replacing DSL with Starlink and Frontier DSL vs Starlink cover the comparison and the order of steps.
Questions people ask
Is my Frontier DSL being shut off?
What does Verizon offer instead of Frontier copper?
Does the copper retirement end DSL too, or only the landline?
Who owns Frontier now?
Where these facts come from
We took every figure and rule on this page from the pages below. Terms move often, so confirm with the provider before you cancel or order.
Checking method: each price, fee and rule here links to the provider’s or regulator’s own page, dated the day we read it. No internet provider pays for a place on this site; the only income is the Starlink referral explained on our money page. Our fact-checking · How we make money · Corrections